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Sunday, July 31, 2011

All charges dropped against Julie Bass, the Michigan gardener threatened with jail time for growing vegetables in her own yard. It is incomprehensible how such self important, arrogant and officious little men who make decisions in local governments can make such total fools of themselves over an issue such as a vegetable garden. Those of us who banded together through the Natural News site and issued a LOUD protest to those local "officials" feel a sort of "vicarious vindication" that we were able to add our voices as one united group to bring about change for this lady being tormented and harrassed by one neighbor and the city of Oak Park, Michigan.

(NaturalNews) This is a breaking news update: Michigan gardener Julie Bass has confirmed with NaturalNews that all charges have been dismissed in her case, including the two misdemeanor dog licensing charges the city threatened her with after dropping her "illegal gardening" charge.

I just spoke with Julie and recorded a 20 minute interview that will be posted tomorrow here on NaturalNews. In that interview, Julie explained that she plans to continue growing her garden, and now even others in Oak Park, Michigan have decided to grow a few nice-looking food plants (peppers, zucchini, etc.) in their own yards in order to help reduce their food bills while increasing their own local food security.

Julie also explained that it was the power of the alternative media that really helped her bring scrutiny to the city planner's office and ultimately get the charges dropped. So this is a national health freedom victory of the People versus Big Government. Both Julie and NaturalNews thank all the NaturalNews readers who took action to apply pressure to the Oak Park, Michigan city administrators.

"...the good news is that because of all the momentum that was generated, people's eyes were opened. lots of people, myself included, were sort of passive in the face of government before. I just went along, figuring that most rules had good reasons, and I was mostly happy to comply. but this entire experience has shown me that you have to be educated. you have to ask questions. you have to have a strong internal compass for morality, and you have to be willing to stand by your Self (capital S on purpose) even in the face of people standing against you." (http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpres...)

"All charges dropped against Julie Bass, the Michigan gardener threatened with jail time for growing vegetables in her own yard, to which I add a heartfelt "YAY!." I would be outraged if someone took it upon themselves to dictate to me that I couldn't grow my 16 tomato plants each summer that bring me such joy and yummy pleasure. Think about it. Are we becoming a police state nation?

How to Optimize Your Nutrition and Achieve Vibrant Health. Many, many years ago, I read a book that used the term: You are what you eat. I cannot recall the author, but the words have stuck with me to this day. Dr. Hyman discusses this very valuable topic here.

"Unfortunately, most doctors are nutritionally illiterate. Worse, they don’t know how to use the most powerful medicine available to them: food. Common sense and scientific research both lead us to the conclusion that if we want healthy bodies, we must put the right raw materials into our bodies: real, whole, local, fresh, unadulterated, unprocessed, and chemical-, hormone-, and antibiotic-free food.

There is NO role in our diets for foreign molecules such as trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup, which interfere with our biology at every level.If you want junk out, put junk in. Enough said. If you want a whole, healthy body, put in whole real food."

"The Basics of a Healthy DietWhat I am about to share might be shocking …Carbohydrates are the single most important food for long-term health and well-being.This may be surprising given the low-carb movement, and “carbophobia” in our country, but it’s true. Of course, I don’t mean the over-processed, refined, sugary, white foods we commonly think of as carbohydrates, such as donuts, bread, bagels, muffins, colas, juices, and most junk food.And I don’t mean the cheap, super-sweet, government-subsidized high-fructose corn syrup that is driving our epidemic of obesity and chronic disease.The carbohydrates I am talking about are the real, whole, nourishing plant foods that the human species has thrived on since from the dawn of evolution.

Food can heal or harm. You make that choice every day by what you put on your fork.

"Most of the food consumed by humans since the beginning of time has been carbohydrates. In fact, plant foods are comprised mostly of carbohydrates: vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices.These foods contain slowly released sources of sugar that prevent surges of blood sugar and insulin. Too much insulin causes heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, and even dementia. Carbohydrates contain almost all the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to operate normally and optimally. They also contain fiber, which helps normalize our digestive function and slows the absorption of sugar and fats into the body, keeping us balanced."Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, summed up all nutritional research in 3 simple principles:“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”In fact, you need know nothing else to be vibrantly healthy.

That’s it. Eat real whole food as it came from the earth: fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices, eggs, and lean animal protein like fish and chicken. Imagine what your great-grandmother would recognize as food, or what might have been on her dinner table. Just food. There is really no such thing as junk food — there is just food, and then there is junk.Whole foods that contain phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fats, and fiber all directly, immediately, and specifically interact with our genes, controlling moment-to-moment changes in our physiology and biochemistry.

Food literally talks to our genes. Food is not just a source of calories, it is also a source of INFORMATION.The key is to send the right information to your genes by eating whole, real, food — mostly plants. Specific nutrients or plant compounds bind to receptors in cells, translating messages from the foods we eat or vitamins we take in into instructions that are carried out by our cells through their effect on our DNA.That is why food can heal or harm. You make that choice every day by what you put on your fork. That means if you eat whole, real, fresh food, you don’t need vitamins. Right?Well, maybe …

How to Optimize Your Nutrition and Achieve Vibrant Health. For those of us who have found ourselves allergic or intolerance of certain food groups, adds another burden to finding foods that will not cause us to become sick. For myself, I have had to eliminate all grains except for gluten free brown rice from my diet due to the really awful symptoms I develop from the high gluten content in the bio-engineered, GMO wheat and other grains that is grown in this country. Countless people, prior to being forced to eat bio-engineered foods developed by Monsanto Chemical Company, are developing symptoms that mimic celiac disease and respiratory difficulties, because of the extreme gluten in grains such as wheat, corn, soy, and so on. This article, among many I have published here, is very important to your health and well being.

You Are What You Eat is an article that I find informative and very inspiring. It speaks to the spirituality of food as well as the nutritional aspects of it.

"Our eating style reflects and affects who and what we are. It identifies our approach to life. If we examine various societies and cultures, we see that each has its traditional foods and food ceremonies. "I am Italian. I often eat spaghetti, lasagna, or pizza," or "I am a real American. I eat hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, coke, and french fries." The French eat crepes, Belgians eat waffles, Chinese eat rice, Ethiopians eat teff, the Swiss eat chocolate, Israelis eat felafel, and Eskimos eat whale blubber. In short, the "way we eat" reveals how we identify ourselves. It reflects and often determines our world-view, our values, and our entire approach to life.

"You are the way you eat." Foods are much more than just a collection of nutrients; they are a wealth of influences and connotations. Rare foods and spices are treasured as special culinary delights. Some foods are worshiped in various cultures as having an unusual holiness or are avoided altogether. The type of food we choose can affect our moods. Hot, spicy, or stimulating foods may influence many of us toward hot-temperedness or nervousness. Cooling foods can relax us and give us peace of mind. Foods can help us celebrate and can comfort us when we mourn. They are a sign of love and are a means of uniting people on many occasions...

"The "way we eat" as Jews is an important part of our heritage and spans from simple rules of common eating etiquette to complex kabbalistic combinations of God's Divine Name concentrated upon while eating. We make a blessing over our food before and after eating and thank God for His wonderful kindness which enables us to eat and to continue our lives for His service."

SPIRITUALITY OF EATING

"Since maintaining a healthy and sound body is among the ways of God -- for one cannot understand or have any knowledge of the Creator, if he is ill -- therefore, one must avoid that which harms the body and accustom himself to that which is healthful and helps the body become stronger. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Book of Knowledge 4:1)...
Why do we eat?
When asked why they eat, people usually respond, "I eat because I'm hungry," "I eat when something looks or smells good," or "I eat because it's meal time." For many, the routine of eating is an agony to minimize or avoid by skipping breakfast or using instant powders or fast foods. Others snack through the day without ever sitting down to a meal!
To achieve historical perspective, we must go back in time to the beginning, to the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Knowledge.
God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat from every tree of the garden. But from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil do not eat, for on the day you eat from it, you will surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17)"

You Are What You Eat. I have researched and selected this article to support my other post today that addresses what foods do to your body. I hope that together the content will be helpful in shaping your thinking about what you are eating and why.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Amazing food facts: The seed of a peach contains an almond-like nut containing the anti-cancer medicine laetrile. If only traditional medicine would open their minds to alternative treatments then millions of suffering cancer patients just might have a chance at living beyond their disease and chemotherapy. But, nooooo, not going to happen in this lifetime. Mike Adams speaks eloquently about one such alternative therapy. Read more:

"NaturalNews) Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots and almonds are all closely related fruit trees with very similar pits. In all these fruits, the pit must be broken open to reveal the almond-shaped kernel within. In fact, this is what almonds actually are: the kernel within the pit of the fruit of the almond tree!The kernels of all these species contain high concentrations of a chemical known as laetrile. It's also known as amygdalin or vitamin B-17. Research has shown that laetrile induces programmed cell death in cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. It's sort of like Mother Nature's chemotherapy except that it doesn't make you suffer the way man-made synthetic chemotherapy does."http://www.naturalnews.com/033123_laetrile_vitamin_B17.html#ixzz1T92Kj

"The medical establishment, learning about this natural "chemotherapy" that killed cancer cells and didn't even require a prescription, quickly began to attack it by spreading lies about the dangers of laetrile. The FDA, long an enemy of healing through nutrition, banned laetrile in 1971. Highly toxic chemotherapy substances, however, remain perfectly legal and continue to kill hundreds of thousands of people every single year. (Most people who "die from cancer" are actually killed by chemotherapy and radiation, not from the cancer itself. "Cancer survivors" are people who miraculously survive chemotherapy.)"

"Amazing food facts: The seed of a peach contains an almond-like nut containing the anti-cancer medicine laetrile. This has been around for a very long time and suppressed by the FDA and traditional medical establishment who gets very, very rich off the drug companies poisonous chemotherapy drugs. I know this on a personal level as my daughter is undergoing chemotherapy for follicular lymphoma. The pain and suffering from those extremely toxic poisons is beyond belief. Yet, as she has discovered, just try and get traditional medical doctors to open their minds to alternative cancer treatments and you get ridiculed right out of their offices and mocked for "buying into" what they call "voodoo" medicine. The most arrogant of her doctors were those at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, she reported. I spoke with her lead physician who actually lied to me. When confronted with the truth, he abruptly found an urgent need to end the phone call.

Friday, July 29, 2011

To Shed Pounds, You MUST Eliminate This from What You Eat. As usual, Dr. Joseph Mercola, one of my favorite health writers has a great deal to share in this excellent article on what you need to ditch in your diet in order to lose weight and enhance your overall health.

"One of the most pervasive MYTHS about weight loss is that you can lose weight by just restricting your calories and increasing your exercise. If you believe this and are seeking to lose weight, let me warn you that you will be in for a load of heartache as this is a myth that is not based in reality.The key is the quality of your calories and exercise. Typically you will need to replace your grain carb and sugar calories with high quality protein and fats and replace cardio exercise with high intensity training like Peak 8. I realize that this might conflict with your previous understanding of a healthy diet, but that is clearly what the bulk of the science and anecdotal evidence supports.In today's world, filled with 'convenience foods' of all sorts, it's harder than ever to keep your weight under control. In the decades since processed foods took over the market place, people have strayed further and further away from fresh whole foods, and this, I believe, is the main crux of the problem. So let's take a look at what the typical American is eating. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the top nine foods eaten by Americans are:

It is important to understand that the foods you eat are three times more important for controlling your weight than your exercise. It's very easy to sabotage yourself with sugary foods and beverages; especially beverages containing high fructose corn syrup, which many sports- and energy drinks are chock full of.Consuming fructose and other sugars just before or during exercise will cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to spike and crash, most likely resulting not in increased hydration, but in reduced athletic performance. Not only that, but consuming fructose after your workout will completely shut down your body's production of HGH! This includes items that are typically viewed as healthy, such as fruit juice or even large amounts of high fructose fruits."

To Shed Pounds, You MUST Eliminate This from What You Eat. As a person who is truly addicted to chocolate and scones, it is a hard decision to eliminate these delectable treats from my diet. Yet, I know that unless I do so, I will gain weight and sabotage my overall health. I never, ever drink sodas or eat foods with HFCS in them since they taste like metal. After reading the truth about that toxic substance years ago, I found that I am really, really glad that HFCS is so revolting. Still, sugar does it's damage. Bummer!

What's really in the food? The A to Z of the food industry's most evil ingredients. I know, I know, there are lots of people out there harping on food additives, and some are credible and some are not. That said, there are two sources that I totally trust and quote in this blog. One is Natural News. Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, is not afraid to "beard the lion in it's den" so to speak. I trust his research and his opinion. So here is some news that will rock your grocery shopping list, that is, if you are wise. Read on:

"(NaturalNews) Ever wonder what's really in the food sold at grocery stores around the world? People keep asking me, "What ingredients should I avoid?" So I put together a short list that covers all the most toxic and disease-promoting ingredients in the food supply. These are the substances causing cancer, diabetes, heart disease and leading to tens of billions of dollars in unnecessary health care costs across America (and around the world).

If you want to stay healthy and out of the hospital, read ingredients labels and make sure you avoid all these ingredients:

Acrylamides - Toxic, cancer-causing chemicals formed in foods when carbohydrates are exposed to high heat (baking, frying, grilling). They're present in everything from bread crusts to snack chips, and because they aren't intentional ingredients, acrylamides do NOT have to be listed on labels.

Food Colors - FD&C Red #40, for example, is linked to behavioral disorders in children. Nearly all artificial food colors are derived from petroleum, and many are contaminated with aluminum.

Genetically Modified Ingredients - Not currently listed on the label because the GMO industry (Monsanto and DuPont) absolutely does not want people to know which foods contain GMOs. Nearly all conventionally grown corn, soy and cotton are GMOs. They're linked to severe infertility problems and may even cause the bacteria in your body to produce and release a pesticide in your own gut. If you're not eating organic corn, you're definitely eating GMO corn. (http://www.naturalnews.com/026426_G...) Learn more at www.ResponsibleTechnology.org or watch my GMO music video (hilarious) at www.NaturalNews.com/NoGMO

High Fructose Corn Syrup - A highly processed liquid sugar extracted with the chemical solvent glutaraldehyde and frequently contaminated with mercury (http://www.naturalnews.com/032948_h...). It's also linked to diabetes, obesity and mood disorders. Used in thousands of grocery items, including things you wouldn't suspect like pizza sauce and salad dressings.

Homogenized Milk - The fats in the milk are artificially modified to change them into smaller molecules that stay in suspension in the milk liquid (so the milk fat doesn't separate) (http://www.naturalnews.com/022967_m...). While it makes milk look better on the shelf, it's also blamed for promoting heart disease and may contribute to milk allergies. Raw milk is healthier, which is why the government had outlawed it (http://www.naturalnews.com/029322_r...).

Hydrochloride - When you see anything hydrochloride, such as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride or Thiamin Hydrochloride, those are chemical forms of B vitamins that companies add to their products to be able to claim higher RDA values of vitamins. But these are synthetic, chemical forms of vitamins, not real vitamins from foods or plants. Nutritionally, they are near-useless and may actually be bad for you. Also watch out for niacinamide and cyanocobalamin (synthetic vitamin B-12). (http://www.naturalnews.com/032766_c...)

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein - A highly processed form of (usually) soy protein that's processed to bring out the free glutamate (MSG). Use as a taste enhancer.

Partially Hydrogenated Oils - Oils that are modified using a chemical catalyst to make them stable at room temperature. This creates trans fatty acids and greatly increases the risk of blocked arteries (http://www.naturalnews.com/027445_f...). It also promotes what I call "sludge blood," which is thick, viscous blood that's hard to pump. This is usually diagnosed by doctors as "high blood pressure" and (stupidly) treated with blood-thinning medications that are technically the same chemicals as rat poison (warfarin) (http://www.naturalnews.com/023149_d...).

Phosphoric Acid - The acid used in sodas to dissolve the carbon dioxide and add to the overall fizzy-ness of the soda. Phosphoric acid will eat steel nails. It's also used by stone masons to etch rocks. The military uses it to clean the rust off battleships. In absolutely destroys tooth enamel (http://www.naturalnews.com/021774.html). Search Google Images for "Mountain Dew Mouth" to see photos of teeth rotted out by phosphoric acid: http://www.google.com/search?q=moun...

Propylene Glycol - A liquid used in the automotive industry to winterize RVs. It's also used to make the fake blueberries you see in blueberry muffins, bagels and breads. (Combined with artificial colors and corn syrup.) See shocking "Fake Blueberries" video at: http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=7...

Sodium (Salt) - The processed white salt lacking in trace minerals. In the holistic nutrition industry, we call it "death salt" because it promotes disease and death. Real salt, on the other hand, such as "dirty" sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, is loaded with the trace minerals that prevent disease, such as selenium (cancer), chromium (diabetes) and zinc (infectious disease). Much like with bread and sugar, white salt is terrible for your health. And don't be fooled by claims of "sea salt" in grocery stores. All salt came from the sea if you go far back enough in geologic time, so they can slap the "sea salt" claim on ANY salt!

Sodium Nitrite - A cancer-causing red coloring chemical added to bacon, hot dogs, sausage, beef jerky, ham, lunch meats, pepperoni and nearly all processed meats. Strongly linked to brain tumors, pancreatic cancers and colon cancers (http://www.naturalnews.com/007024.html). The USDA once tried to ban it from the food supply but was out-maneuvered by the meat industry, which now dominates USDA regulations. Sodium nitrite is a complete poison used to make meats look fresh. Countless children die of cancer each year from sodium nitrite-induced cancers.

Soy Protein - The No. 1 protein source used in "protein bars," including many bars widely consumed by bodybuilders. Soy protein is the "junk protein" of the food industry. It's made from genetically modified soybeans (often grown in China) and then subjected to hexane, a chemical solvent (http://www.naturalnews.com/026303_s...) that can literally explode.

Sugar - The bleached, nutritionally-deficient byproduct of cane processing. During sugar cane processing, nearly all the minerals and vitamins end up in the blackstrap molasses that's usually fed to farm animals. (Blackstrap molasses is actually the "good" part of sugar cane juice.) Molasses is often fed to farm animals because every rancher knows that farm animals need good nutrition to stay alive. Amazingly, conventional doctors don't yet realize this about humans, and they continue to claim that eating sugar is perfectly fine for you. Sugar promotes diabetes, obesity, mood disorders and nutritional deficiencies.

Textured Vegetable Protein - Usually made of soy protein which is extracted from genetically modified soybeans and then processed using hexane, an explosive chemical solvent (see Soy Protein, above). Widely used in vegetarian foods such as "veggie burgers" (most of which also contain MSG or Yeast Extract, by the way).

Yeast Extract - Hidden form of MSG that contains free glutamate and is used in many "natural" food products to claim "No MSG!" Yeast extract contains up to 14% free glutamate. You'll find it in thousands of grocery store products, from soups to snack chips. I even once spotted it used on fresh meat!

How to buy honest food

• In the USA, look for the USDA Organic label on foods. This is a legitimate claim to being certified organic. It's one of the few programs run by the USDA that actually has integrity.

• Read the ingredients labels! If you see names of chemicals you can't pronounce, don't buy it.

• Buy more unprocessed food ingredients and make your own meals rather than buying ready-to-eat, processed foods, which are almost universally formulated with disease-promoting ingredients.

• GROW some of your own food! The best food you can ever eat is food from your own garden.

What's really in the food? The A to Z of the food industry's most evil ingredients. I have gotten to the point where I eat mostly raw, organically grown foods and organically raised beef, chicken, fish. I don't shop the inner part of the store because it is loaded with the garbage prepared, packaged foods that are so full of the lethal chemicals above listed, and more. Since making that shift in my diet about 10 years ago, my health has improved immensely.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Pasteurized milk found to contain painkillers, antibiotics and growth hormones. Got Chemical Loaded Milk? should be the new logo for the Got Milk campaign with silly celebrities wearing milk moustaches. Read this blistering article and rethink your milk consumption. For my family, we use only certified organic milk and preferably raw organic milk.

"(NaturalNews) A single glass of pasteurized milk can contain a toxic chemical cocktail of 20 painkillers, antibiotics, and growth hormones, new research has shown. Using a highly sensitive test, scientists found drug-related chemicals used to treat human illness not only in cow milk, but in goat and human breast milk as well. Among the chemicals were those found in painkillers and other anti-inflammatory drugs. Researchers theorize that some of the drugs and hormones observed are a result of growth hormones administered to cattle, as well as food contamination on the farm.

The Spanish-Moroccan team analysed 20 samples of cow's milk bought in Spain and Morocco, with the team's breakdown published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In addition to containing drug-related chemicals such as niflumic acid, mefenamic acid and ketoprofen, the milk studied was found to contain the hormone 17-beta-estradiol. A form of the sex hormone oestrogen, the hormone was detected at three millionths of a gram in every kilogram of milk. Compared to niflumic acid, which was detected at less than one millionth of a gram per kilogram of milk, 17-beta-estradiol was found to have a much larger presence in the milk studied. Similar to the estrogen-mimicking bisphenol A (BPA), which has been found in a majority of plastic water bottles and food cans worldwide, 17-beta-estradiol can negatively impact the male hormonal balance in a way that can lead to unknown long-term consequences."

"Farmers, who do not inject their livestock with growth hormones or feed them with produce that has been sprayed with pesticides or genetically modified organisms, will yield much higher quality milk. Organic raw milk has been tied to a number of health benefits due to its role as a balanced food rich in vitamins and protein. Raw milk contains all 20 of the standard amino acids, which are considered to be the very building blocks of life. It also contains a significant amount of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), an omega-6 fatty acid that has ties to increased fat loss and to improved metabolic function. The pasteurization process eliminates many of the nutrients that make raw milk a valued health food, virtually destroying the nutritional integrity of the drink.

Unfortunately, there is currently a war against raw milk by the FDA and other organizations. From arresting those who sell raw milk to shutting down entire clubs dedicated to raw milk, the FDA has been on a tireless crusade against raw milk and its advocates. Legal action has been taken, however, that may pave the way for raw milk to become more publicly available. The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) recently launched a lawsuit against the FDA for its ban on interstate sales of raw milk. The lawsuit challenges the FDA on the premise that the ban goes against the United States Constitution. In an outlandishly-authoritarian response, the FDA stated, "There is no 'deeply rooted' historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds." Despite the crackdown on raw milk, its benefits cannot be suppressed. As more health conscious individuals seek refuge from drug-laden pasteurized milk, free access to raw milk will become a mainstream issue."Sources:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...http://www.thecompletepatient.com/s...http://www.realmilk.com/documents/S...http://www.naturalnews.com/028757_r...

Pasteurized milk found to contain painkillers, antibiotics and growth hormones. Just another day in chemical "paradise". It gets super discouraging when you read articles day in and day out and find very little "good" news about foods in this nation. This doesn't even address the poisonous foods loaded with melamine and lead, cadmium and so forth that are imported from a very large Asian country. You will all recall that horror of milk loaded with melamine that killed or maimed infants.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Study: Drinking diet soda actually causes weight gain, blood sugar spikes. I have had this "discussion" with friends and family about the health dangers of diet sodas, particularly those with Aspartame. Here is documentationon the problems that "diet" drinks create, including weight gain and obesity.

"(NaturalNews) Contrary to popular belief, diet soda and other foods and beverages made with artificial sweeteners like aspartame are not healthy, and they do not bring about weight loss. A landmark new study out of Texas confirms this, having found that not only do diet sodas not help with weight loss, but they actually cause both weight gain and health problems.

"Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) at San Antonio gathered ten years worth of data on 474 participants from a larger, ongoing study called the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging. Among these participants, those that consumed two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were a shocking six times greater than those who did not drink diet soda.

"Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised," said Helen P. Hazuda, a study researcher and professor at the UTHSC school of medicine. "They may be free of calories, but not of consequences."

Presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the findings debunk the false notion that drinking diet beverages is beneficial for weight loss. Since consuming them actually leads to a 70 percent increase in waist size compared to those who do not drink them, it is clear that using the name "diet" is, in and of itself, misleading."

"There's something about diet foods that changes your metabolic limit, your brain chemistry," said Dr. Marie Savard, a medical contributor for ABC News, in response to those findings. "The truth is, we're putting artificial sweetener in so many different things: in water, in yogurt. We have to rethink what this artificial stuff does to us."

A 2010 study conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases adds to this, having found that the body's reaction to the ingestion of artificial sweeteners appears to be brain confusion over how exactly to process it, which in and of itself is implicated in causing various other negative consequences (http://www.naturalnews.com/028592_a...).
US Food and Drug Administration adverse event reports going back several decades indicate that artificial sweeteners like aspartame are also responsible for destroying brain neurons, which in turn leads to a host of chronic illnesses.These include, but are not limited to, chronic headaches, seizures, strokes, vascular disorders, heart disease, premature birth, dementia and other brain disorders, and cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/aspartam...).

Study: Drinking diet soda actually causes weight gain, blood sugar spikes. If you "bought into" the lies about diet sodas and artificial sweeteners causing you to lose weight, then it is time to readdress that issue and find another low calorie drink. Like water.

Cookware chemical linked to causing arthritis. There is no way I would have Teflon cookware in my home. I became aware of this problem a number of years ago from another study I had read online. I had been given a set of Teflon coated skillets for my birthday, but had not yet used them. I pitched them out after, by chance, I read about the health hazards in using Teflon coated products. Read more below:

" (NaturalNews) Sometimes the technological innovations that appear to make our lives a lot easier are the same ones that are now destroying our health. A new study out of West Virginia University's (WVU) School of Medicine has found that people with the highest blood levels of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), a chemical used in non-stick and stain-resistant coatings, are 40 percent more likely to develop arthritis than people with the lowest blood levels."

"Exposure to PFOA is also linked to a variety of other diseases, including thyroid disorders, high cholesterol, delayed pregnancy, and infertility.

(http://www.naturalnews.com/PFOA.html). And besides simply causing problems when leaked into the environment, the chemical is highly volatile -- in other words, the hotter it gets on items like cookware, the more it tends to leech into fumes, and also into food that touches it."

Cookware chemical linked to causing arthritis. Look carefully at the pans you are using to cook with, and see if they are Teflon coated and if so, are they scratched? Because stainless steel is a trial to clean, I invested in cast iron skillets by Le Creuset that are pre-seasoned. They are fabulous to cook with. I also added Le Creuset dutch oven that is enamel coated and find that these pans are amazing and the food tastes so much better than I expected, and they are a breeze to clean.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

The 10 Dirtiest Foods You're Eating. It's hardly a surprise any more when we read a news story on how contaminated our food sources are from GMO foods made from all sorts of bacteria, molds, etc. to slovenly practices in the cattle yards, hog farms, chicken farms and so forth. Then you factor in filthy food processing plants, such as the peanut butter scare a year or so ago, and the canned tomato contamination that was willfully ignored by the president of one of the largest tomato processing company in the nation. Then there is the pig blood meat paste that is injected into your hamburger you get at the local fast food joint, and the issue becomes monumental. On top of all that, don't forget that food servers are supposed to wash their hands after using the toilet, but you never know what is on their hands when a plate or sack of food is delivered to you. Worse, is when the food is contaminated through poor food storage practices, unclean hands, etc. and served to you in your own home. People wonder why we are so sick all the time. Read this article on filthy foods." ...a prime suspect... the norovirus, the most common cause of food poisoning in the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 200,000 Americans contract food poisoning every day. But Philip Tierno, Ph.D., a microbiologist at New York University medical center and author of The Secret Life of Germs, believes the actual number is closer to 800,000.And in 4 of 5 of food poisoning cases, the attack happens at home—right (on the plate) under your nose. "Everyone in this country will have at least one incident of sickness this year attributable to a foodborne virus, bacteria, or toxin," Tierno told Men’s Health.Except that most of us won't know what hit us. Like my colleague, we'll chalk up the usually mild symptoms—nausea, diarrhea, cramping—to a stomach bug that's going around."http://health.yahoo.net/experts/menshealth/10-dirtiest-foods-youre-eating

"We asked Men's Health contributor Jim Gorman to help us identify the 10 dirtiest foods we put on our plates. His report is shocking, in that it reads like the average American’s grocery list. Read on for the dirt about your favorite foods—and how to protect yourself at the supermarket and your dinner table."Click here to see the Dirtiest Foods You're Eating slideshow. The 10 Dirtiest Foods You're Eating reminds me of what my personal physician had told me many years ago, and that is to simply wash your hands before touching food no matter where you are. Never put food into your mouth if you have touched a doorknob, used the toilet and forgot to wash your hands, and never eat out of season. One of the things we forget is that foods grown out of this country have different standards of cleanliness. Workers in the fields often do not have access to facilities and are forced to use the area grounds where they labor instead of a regular toilet. Those germs and microbes in the soil are on the foods and unless you are extremely careful to wash the foods BEFORE consuming them, you are subject to any disease on the produce.

People also forget that bananas have germs on their skins and when you peel them and touch the fruit inside with hands made unclean by whatever is on the skin, you have another source for disease to enter your body. Educating children from a very early age to wash hands before putting food into their mouths is a life long health habit that any conscious parent must teach their children for their own health sake.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

7 Foods Most Likely to Make You Sick. As you ponder the next picnic and the foods you are going to prepare and take with you, consider these strong warnings as you pack the foods in coolers. Make sure you have more than adequate cooling blocks to keep your foods safe to eat at your destination. There is much more.

"Every day, more than 130,000 Americans are stricken with food poisoning. While the rates of some common food-borne bugs have declined, cases of Salmonella—the most common infection and leading cause of both hospitalization and death from food-borne illness—have risen by 10 percent since 2006, according to a new food safety reportissued by the CDC on June 7. About 1.2 million Americans suffer bouts of Salmonella each year."

“The bottom line is that food-borne illness, particularly salmonella, is still far too common,” said CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden. One reason is that it can taint a wide range of foods, including meat, eggs, poultry, vegetables and nuts. One detail of the report highlights just how entrenched the pathogen is: New US standards to take effect next month call for “allowable contamination”of chicken at processing plants to be reduced to 7.5 percent from the current rate of 20 percent—hardly an assurance of safety. Here’s a look at seven of the riskiest foods for triggering serious health problems."

The problem: Contamination can occur at the farm through contact with wild animals, manure, contaminated water or unsanitary harvesting, or at home through inadequate hand washing or unsanitary preparation. At least 363 outbreaks of food-borne illness are linked to leafy greens.

Prevention:Wash raw vegetables thoroughly and avoid preparing them near raw chicken or meat. You may want to avoid packaged salad mixes, since combining vegetables from multiple sources could increases the risk of a contaminated ingredient finding its way into the mix.

2. Eggs: Eggs and egg products have been blamed for more than 350 outbreaks of food poisoning. Last year they sickened more than 50,000 Americans, leading to the recall of a half-billion eggs.

Culprits: Salmonella.The most common strain infects the ovaries of hens, contaminating eggs before the shell is formed.

The problem: Serving raw or runny eggs or leaving eggs at improper temperatures at buffets.

The problem:Hot dogs have been blamed for food-related asphyxiations in kids under age 10. Every five days a young child dies as a result of choking on food.

Prevention: Cut hot dogs into half-inch chunks for kids under age four, then slice chunks in half. Cut grapes in half too. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a new report on choking prevention.

4. Tuna: Mercury isn’t the only hazard. A naturally occurring toxin—a histamine-like chemical—can trigger a syndrome similar to an allergic reaction. Affected fish may have a peppery, bitter or metallic flavor.

The problem: Once formed, the toxin can’t be destroyed by cooking, freezing, smoking, curing or canning. Symptoms include skin flushing, headaches, abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and palpitations. Antihistamines may reduce symptoms, which usually clear up within a day.

Prevention: The problem can be prevented if fish is kept chilled from capture to cooking. Don’t eat fish with an off flavor.

5.Peanuts: In moderation, peanuts can be nutritious as they contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. However, they can be dangerous or deadly to about one percent of the population.

Culprit: An allergy that’s on the rise among children. Peanuts are the leading cause of food-allergy deaths.

The problem: The immune system of those with the allergy mistakenly identifies peanut proteins as a threat to health, triggering symptoms ranging from mild to deadly.

Prevention: People with severe peanut allergies should carry an EpiPen for immediate treatment of reactions and scrutinize food labels carefully.

6. Potatoes: Outbreaks of illness are linked to potato salad.

Culprits: Salmonella, Shingella, Listeria or E. colibacteria can get into potato dishes via cross contamination from raw-to-cooked ingredients during handling and preparation.

The problem: Shigella is transmitted easily from an infected person to food. Listeria can live on deli counters and kitchens. More than 40 percent of potato-related illnesses are triggered by prepared foods from restaurants, groceries and delis.

7. Ice Cream: The largest ice-cream outbreak ever occurred in 1994 when a manufacturer transported raw eggs and pasteurized ice cream premix in the same truck.

Culprits: Salmonellaand Listeria.

The problem: Almost half of all-ice cream outbreaks occur in private homes, probably due to Salmonellafrom undercooked eggs in homemade ice cream. Listeria can live inside of soft ice cream machines and contaminate multiple batches. Other dairy products can also harbor Listeria.

Prevention The CDC advises pregnant women to avoid soft cheeses like feta, Brie and Camembert. Salmonella can be killed by pasteurization. Also be cautious about eating soft or homemade ice cream."

7 Foods Most Likely to Make You Sick. I have published this curated article in full, in order alert you at once to the dangers of the foods that we find ourselves eating a lot of during the summer. Ice Cream, hot dogs, potatoes and eggs in particular. Been there, done that with Salmonella, and oh, man! it is awful.

New Identity: The Rebranding of Popular Food Items is one topic that makes me froth at the mouth with fury at how our food source is being contaminated by bio-engineering, and poisoning us in every possible way. Thanks to the liars who run those food corporations and the federal government who turns a blind eye, we can no longer trust any food source as pure, definitely not with GMOs in every wheat, corn, soy, etc. grain that we consume for one example.Below is even more of this crime against humanity, as I see it."Here’s a food riddle: When is high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) not high-fructose corn syrup? When it’s “corn sugar.” Yes, get ready to start seeing this new, innocent-sounding moniker pop up in commercials and on labels. Because of the thrashing HFCS has taken in the court of public opinion in the past few years, its makers have decided to help it shed its old battered skin and emerge as a sleeker, more natural-sounding product.Rebranding happens all the time in the corporate world. Philip Morris became Altria. The SciFi Channel became SyFy, GMAC became Ally Bank, Puff Daddy became Diddy, and Prince became The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. When a name—for one reason or another—just isn’t working, the strategy is to regroup and debut as something else."

"Aspartame, aka AminoSweetDiscovered in 1965, aspartame was among the first major artificial sweeteners to hit the U.S. food market, and because of its potency and lack of calories, manufacturers put it in everything. But due to competition from newer sweeteners and persistent rumors that the chemical is linked to cancerous tumors, sales of aspartame have lagged in recent years. The FDA has consistently maintained that aspartame is safe, but in early 2010, Ajinomoto (one company that manufactures the compound) decided to rename it AminoSweet. The new name is meant to make the product sound more natural and to evoke the two amino acids that account for its sweetness."

"Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed Oil, aka Canola Oil. There’s no such thing as a canola. Actually, the proper spelling is “Canola” with a capital C, because Canola isn’t even a plant—it’s the proper name of the product. Canola oil comes from the rapeseed plant. Rapeseed oil was used in many parts of the world for cooking and industrial purposes, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that it became a staple in American kitchens, after Canadian scientists genetically engineered a strain of rapeseed plant that yielded a product significantly less bitter than regular rapeseed oil. It also contained less erucic acid, which had been associated with heart problems. The tasteless, odorless oil was perfect for cooking and baking, but manufacturers decided that “low erucic acid rapeseed oil” was not likely to motivate consumers to buy. They called the new oil Canola oil, after the name given to the experimental seed by the Canadian government: Can.-O.-L.A., which stood for Canadian, oilseed, low-acid. Thanks to smart branding, today it’s the third most popular cooking oil in the United States."Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22145/105227-new-identity-rebranding-popular-food/2#ixzz1PqThFnsH

New Identity: The Rebranding of Popular Food Items. These few items discussed in this article are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. I am eating a mostly raw diet of fruits and vegetables, juices and green drinks, and my one weakness which is chocolate. (now that it's been rationalized to death and finally considered healthy).

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Food as weapons of war - created by Big Pharma? Some folks are terrified of biological warfare, and with just concern. Others' view it like a Hollywood big screen blockbuster flick such as one called "Contagion", forthcoming shortly. How many people think about the bio-engineering of our food with toxic, life destructive organisms, as ONE way to commit genocide against entire populations, without accountability or a shred of morality?

"By the way, the most likely explanation of where this strain of e.coli was bioengineered is that the drug giants came up with it in their own labs. Who else has access to all the antibiotics and equipment needed to manage the targeted mutations of potentially thousands of e.coli colonies? The drug companies are uniquely positioned to both carry out this plot and profit from it. In other words, they have the means and the motive to engage in precisely such actions.

Aside from the drug companies, perhaps only the infectious disease regulators themselves have this kind of laboratory capacity. The CDC, for example, could probably pull this off if they really wanted to.

The proof that somebody bioengineered this e.coli strain is written right in the DNA of the bacteria. That's forensic evidence, and what it reveals cannot be denied. This strain underwent repeated and prolonged exposure to eight different classes of antibiotics, and then it somehow managed to appear in the food supply. How do you get to that if not through a well-planned scheme carried out by rogue scientists? There is no such thing as "spontaneous mutation" into a strain that is resistant to the top eight classes of brand-name antibiotic drugs being sold by Big Pharma today. Such mutations have to be deliberate.

Once again, if you disagree with this assessment, then what you're saying is that NO, it wasn't done deliberately... it happened accidentally! And again, I'm saying that's even scarier! Because that means the antibiotic contamination of our world is now at such an extreme level of overkill that a strain of e.coli in the wild can be saturated with eight different classes of antibiotics to the point where it naturally develops into its own deadly superbug. If that's what people believe, then that's almost a scarier theory than the bioengineering explanation!"

"But in either case -- no matter what you believe -- the simple truth is that the world is now facing a new era of global superbug strains of bacteria that can't be treated with any known pharmaceutical. They can all, of course, be readily killed with colloidal silver, which is exactly why the FDA and world health regulators have viciously attacked colloidal silver companies all these years: They can't have the public getting its hands on natural antibiotics that really work, you see. That would defeat the whole purpose of making everybody sick in the first place.

In fact, these strains of e.coli superbugs can be quite readily treated with a combination of natural full-spectrum antibiotics from plants such as garlic, ginger, onions and medicinal herbs. On top of that, probiotics can help balance the flora of the digestive tract and "crowd out" the deadly e.coli that might happen by. A healthy immune system and well-functioning digestive tract can fight off an e.coli superbug infection, but that's yet another fact the medical community doesn't want you to know. They much prefer you to remain a helpless victim lying in the hospital, waiting to die, with no options available to you. That's "modern medicine" for ya. They cause the problems that they claim to treat, and then they won't even treat you with anything that works in the first place.

Nearly all the deaths now attributable to this e.coli outbreak are easily and readily avoidable. These are deaths of ignorance. But even more, they may also be deaths from a new era of food-based bioweapons unleashed by either a group of mad scientists or an agenda-driven institution that has declared war on the human population."

I hope you will read this entire article written by Mike Adams of Natural News. I appreciate his work above all others because he tells the truth and allows freedom of speech which is incredibly informative when one has an open mind.